Bragging On Jesus

Proverbs 24:21 My son, fear the Lord and the king, and do not join with those who do otherwise, 22 for disaster will arise suddenly from them, and who knows the ruin that will come from them both?

So far in chapter 24...

Now Solomon is saying not to join with the wicked and more specifically not to join with those who do not fear the Lord and the king but rather to fear them both.

Alright, the thing Solomon puts first is that he says to fear the Lord… why should we fear God?

Matthew 10:28 And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather fear him who can destroy both soul and body in hell.

Now I have heard it said before that the kind of fear we should have toward God is something more like a reverent fear. While that is true… we cannot exclude the most extreme fear one can imagine. We should not belittle or downplay the holiness of God. Our unholiness in that we seek to take the glory that belongs to God for ourselves and we rebel and are disobedient and we have been believing the promises of the world over him…. Our brokenness should bring us to our knees before God in his perfection of love and justice; his righteousness in character and attributes.

Ok, now here is something interesting I think… and amazing… When we fear the Lord there is an aspect of fear that is removed… When we fear God and bow before him in trust… the fear of everything else disappears.

So we just read in Matthew 10:28 how we should fear him who can destroy both soul and body in hell. But the next two verses tells how God removes other fears.

29 Are not two sparrows sold for a penny?i And not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your Father. 30 But even the hairs of your head are all numbered. 31 Fear not, therefore; you are of more value than many sparrows. 32 So everyone who acknowledges me before men, I also will acknowledge before my Father who is in heaven, 33 but whoever denies me before men, I also will deny before my Father who is in heaven.

Pretty amazing right? We don’t fear man even when he makes threats, we don’t fear not having our needs met, and we don’t even fear the wrath of God as we did before because Jesus took the wages of our sin on the Cross and he imputed his righteousness into us so thats how God sees us.

1st John 4:17 By this is love perfected with us, so that we may have confidence for the day of judgment, because as he is so also are we in this world. 18 There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear. For fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not been perfected in love.

Finally why should we fear the king?

Well I think Solomon was sure that God was the one who set him up as king. … But I think this truth goes beyond Solomon.

The Bible tells us that God is the one who sets up authority in the whole world; not only in governments but in homes and organizations. Accountability to authority is much better than if every person were for themselves in the world. Who doesn’t agree that this is a must in sports and business… ...

1st Peter 2:13 Be subject for the Lord’s sake to every human institution, whether it be to the emperor as supreme, 14 or to governors as sent by him to punish those who do evil and to praise those who do good. 15 For this is the will of God, that by doing good you should put to silence the ignorance of foolish people.

17 Honor everyone. Love the brotherhood. Fear God. Honor the emperor. 18 Servants, be subject to your masters with all respect, not only to the good and gentle but also to the unjust.

However to understand the context of that… for example what if the Emperor goes against the Lord? Who should we be subject to? I think common sense is clear but Paul gives us more clarity in responding to authority when he tells children how they should honor their parents…

Ephesians 6:1 says: Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right.

So we should not fear or honor others to the point of going against the Lord…

Proverbs in 365 Devotions

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Proverbs 24:19 Fret not yourself because of evildoers, and be not envious of the wicked, 20 for the evil man has no future; the lamp of the wicked will be put out.

Will I Walk In Sight Or Reality?

R Aylor

We might at times at least, be tempted to look at the wicked man with a sense of longing… or jealousy if you will… not all the wicked of course and not at all times… but on a given day when we are feeling sorry for ourselves... when down and blue or ill or tired or cant buy what we would like… at some time when satan tempts us with the promises of the flesh… we might get an unrealistic glimpse of his life that appeals to us.

Solomon knew that at those times… things are not what they seem. It’s then that we may think we see a wicked person who is basking in the light of success. Maybe a deceitful business man who is rich or we may see a selfish man who has found love with a beautiful woman or a wicked woman who has found a handsome self confident romantic man who gives her all her desire… We may see reality tv shows where self centered people are well liked or those with big egos on social media get thousands of likes. When our faith is small… and by that I mean we are trusting in our sight instead of Gods word… When our faith is small we think what if… as if those promises of the world brought real delight and satisfaction… peace… even at their best they do not bring good feelings to our senses that last.

Solomon doesn’t want us to waste a second out of our short life being jealous for those who believe the world and satan’s promises. Their future is despair and hopelessness… He says the lamp of the wicked will be put out. They will be seperated from everything that is good in darkness forever.

So let us take courage and gird up our loins… stand up and smile… rejoice in Gods word our guaranteed hope. Faith is not a one time thing we exercise at salvation… It is a daily thing. Jesus said this in…

Luke 9:23 And he said to all, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me.

What are we dying to every day? We die to faith in the world and satan’s promises for satisfaction. We joyfully take up our cross to die daily to those things and walk in the resurrection of trusting Gods word for the rest of our life… and we do that every single day.

Proverbs 24:17 Do not rejoice when your enemy falls, and let not your heart be glad when he stumbles, 18 lest the Lord see it and be displeased, and turn away his anger from him.

Solomon seems to want us to take note of where our joy has moved to… where it is now focused. Did you catch that in the text? What are we rejoicing in? What makes our heart glad?

Has someone hurt or wounded you… Have you been treated wrongly? We all have of course… In fact we’ve been on both sides of the equation… even the one dishing it out. But how does our heart respond when those who have offended us experience pain or hardship themselves? Our initial response may be to be happy about it… right? Maybe you’ve been treated poorly in some way recently or even 30-40 years ago… Dose it ever haunt you? Do you ever replay the tape of wrongs done to you? And do you rejoice at that persons downfall when it comes and think they got what they deserved?

As believers who have the righteousness of Jesus we are glad for the justice of God on Judgment day… But while in this life, it is a great evil for us who have been shown mercy to wish evil on others knowing that even to this day we ourselves are still sinners. ... In the old testament we see many times when God postpones judgment on evil nations and instead he brings his own people into bondage to that very nation until their affections turn back to the Lord. And as we learn in the old and new testament, those who refuse to take joy in God and his mercy… will have to be judged according to their own righteousness in relation to Gods law and all of mankind would winds up guilty under this trek.

You may remember the analogy Jesus gave in Matthew 18. Here’s what he said beginning in verse 23

23 “Therefore the kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who wished to settle accounts with his servants. 24 When he began to settle, one was brought to him who owed him ten thousand talents. 25 And since he could not pay, his master ordered him to be sold, with his wife and children and all that he had, and payment to be made. 26 So the servant fell on his knees, imploring him, ‘Have patience with me, and I will pay you everything.’ 27 And out of pity for him, the master of that servant released him and forgave him the debt.

Thats a nice story… right? If you are now a child of God with a promised inheritance full of riches then this is a picture of you… God forgave you of all your sins and rescued you from prison and slavery to sin through faith in Jesus.

But in this telling by Jesus… the story turns sour. The servant did not have a truly repentant heart. He did not see the glory of God in the mercy that was shown him. He did not learn mercy or truly understand it because it had no transforming effect on his own life. His heart had not been changed.

28 But when that same servant went out, he found one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred denarii, and seizing him, he began to choke him, saying, ‘Pay what you owe.’ 29 So his fellow servant fell down and pleaded with him, ‘Have patience with me, and I will pay you.’ 30 He refused and went and put him in prison until he should pay the debt. 31 When his fellow servants saw what had taken place, they were greatly distressed, and they went and reported to their master all that had taken place. 32 Then his master summoned him and said to him, ‘You wicked servant! I forgave you all that debt because you pleaded with me. 33 And should not you have had mercy on your fellow servant, as I had mercy on you?’ 34 And in anger his master delivered him to the jailers, until he should pay all his debt. 35 So also my heavenly Father will do to every one of you, if you do not forgive your brother from your heart.”

No matter how we look at it there is only one hope for us.

In Matthew 9:13 Jesus said this: Go and learn what this means: ‘I desire mercy, and not sacrifice.’ For I came not to call the righteous, but sinners.”

Pray

Proverbs in 365 Devotions

For more go to braggingonjesus.com

Proverbs 24:15 Lie not in wait as a wicked man against the dwelling of the righteous; do no violence to his home; 16 for the righteous falls seven times and rises again, but the wicked stumble in times of calamity.

Responding To A Fall

R Aylor

It seems a man with wickedness in his heart is a man prone to lash out against those who walk in righteousness. They might be jealous for any number of reasons… They may manufacture and rationalize reasons to dislike godly people in their own mind saying things like their pleasantries are fake or self-righteous… If the godly person is well off and respected in the community, this wicked person may hope for their downfall and they may even rejoice when they sin and their holier than thou image is brought down.

But there is a big difference in how a godly and a wicked person deal with failure.

First let’s think about the wicked man Solomon speaks of.

If he is reprimanded at work for tardiness or some other infringement… Thats a failure of sorts right? How does he respond? He defends himself and talks trash about his boss or others involved… Instead of getting back up he stumbles in his bitterness. Let’s say he looses his job… Instead of humbling himself and owning up… Instead of learning from his mistakes he badmouths the company. With his gossip he is does violence to those who have acted righteously like our text indicates. His continual stumbling in grumbling and bitterness poisons his heart toward the righteous.

The worst part of this mans failure is not so much in his misconduct at work… we all stumble at work and home and in all of life… and yes it is a real failure… but in their heart this person becomes crippled for life as long as they remain bitter towards others.

Solomon says: “16 for the righteous falls seven times and rises again, but the wicked stumble in times of calamity.”

Look, maybe you have lost your job or been publicly humiliated… Guess what, even if it was not your fault and others have truly mistreated you… don’t stumble in bitterness toward them. Even if you were in the right… when our heart dwells on wrongs it becomes tainted with the same kind of bitterness that the unrepentant man experienced and we stumble until we forgive and love those who have done us wrong.

Only then do we become the person Solomon spoke of saying: for the righteous falls seven times and rises again…

I love what Joseph said to his brothers years after they sold him into slavery: Genesis 50:20 As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good, to bring it about that many people should be kept alive, as they are today.

Pray

Father Im reminded of Jesus call to Peter on the Sea of Galilee saying follow me and then the last words Jesus spoke in the book of John which were to Peter again… after he had just found out he would be a martyr for the Lord and Peter looked at John and asked Jesus: “what about this man”…

John 21:22 Jesus said to him, “If it is my will that he remain until I come, what is that to you? You follow me!”

So Lord please help us keep our eyes on you whether we have been done wrong or not… help us not to manufacture or dwell on wrongs… but no matter what comes to get up and walk in the righteousness of Jesus and be motivated by him to love others and live for the Lord.

Proverbs in 365 Devotions

Proverbs 24:13 My son, eat honey, for it is good, and the drippings of the honeycomb are sweet to your taste. 14 Know that wisdom is such to your soul; if you find it, there will be a future, and your hope will not be cut off.

It's Not About The Honey

R Aylor

​In today's passage we find Solomon giving a kind of mini parable about honey. The reason I think of it as parable is because a parables purpose is to get across a truth by association of something in the world… in this case honey. But everything in a parable is not necessarily eligible for analyzing as the lesson… We have to discern what truth the writer is focusing on.

For example Solomon is not saying we should make honey our diet 24/7. I expect that would give us diabetes. That would not be good.

Solomon actually gives us another mini parable about not eating too much honey. Proverbs 25:27 says “It is not good to eat much honey, nor is it glorious to seek one’s own glory”.

So actually neither of these mini parables are about honey.. This last one is focusing on not seeking our own glory… and our verse for today is focusing on how wisdom is good… not like honey in that you shouldn’t eat too much… but the characteristic of honey in the way it taste. That is the thrust of the application Solomon is making.

When we savor sweet taste of Wisdom it should light up our eyes and bring a smile to our lips…

Wisdom is found in Gods word. Yes, we may hear it from a friend or at church or in a million different places… but if its real wisdom it is in agreement with Gods word. And that's where we should go to verify all the so called wisdom we hear in the world and that's where we should do our spiritual dining every day. … But really… Solomon is saying it is important that we have a taste for it. It should be good to our palate.. Our spiritual taste buds should come alive when we go to Gods word.

Ill close today with a few verses about savoring Gods word.

Daily Spiritual Diet:

Breakfast -

Psalm 143:8 Let me hear in the morning of your steadfast love, for in you I trust…

Mid-morning -

Psalm 59:16 But I will sing of your strength; I will sing aloud of your steadfast love in the morning. For you have been to me a fortress and a refuge in the day of my distress.

Heat of Day -

John 7:37 …“If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink.

Lunch -

John 6:35 …“I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger,…

Afternoon Boost -

Psalm 119:103 How sweet are Your words to my taste, Sweeter than honey to my mouth!

Supper -

Isaiah 55:1 “Come, everyone who thirsts, come to the waters; and he who has no money, come, buy and eat! Come, buy wine and milk without money and without price. 2 Why do you spend your money for that which is not bread, and your labor for that which does not satisfy? Listen diligently to me, and eat what is good, and delight yourselves in rich food.

Bedtime -

Psalm 63:5 My soul will be satisfied as with fat and rich food, and my mouth will praise you with joyful lips, 6 when I remember you upon my bed, and meditate on you in the watches of the night;

Midnight Snack -

Psalm 119:62 At midnight I rise to praise you, because of your righteous rules.

When I awake -

Isaiah 50:4 The Lord GOD has given Me the tongue of disciples, That I may know how to sustain the weary one with a word. He awakens Me morning by morning, He awakens My ear to listen as a disciple.

Savoring that first Bite -

Psalm 34:8 Oh, taste and see that the LORD is good! …

True Satisfaction -

Matthew 5:6 “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.

Eat Continually - Psalm 27:8 You have said, “Seek my face.” My heart says to you, “Your face, Lord, do I seek.” 


Pray

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Proverbs 24:10 If you faint in the day of adversity, your strength is small. 11 Rescue those who are being taken away to death; hold back those who are stumbling to the slaughter. 12 If you say, “Behold, we did not know this,” does not he who weighs the heart perceive it? Does not he who keeps watch over your soul know it, and will he not repay man according to his work?

*Some removed... out of room.

Now, let’s think about the primary action Solomon is promoting in this passage…

I think we can see an exhortation here for good in both the physical and spiritual. For example... We see children aborted in the womb by those who impose their rationalizations about life as though they know what is right and true above Gods word. Sure… all these are experiencing adversity…

However, Solomon address his words it seems to us who have taken up the charge of God… his mission… and those of us who are able to rescue those from varying oppressions… This is a daunting task for us. Solomon says if we faint our strength is small… And we know that in our self we are weaklings for sure. Only with the strength that God supplies can we rescue those who are being swallowed up in a broken world.

But the spiritual side of this is much more significant and consequential.

The world, satan, the brokenness of mans own sinful heart… all of darkness is leading people all around us to slaughter and death that never ends.

Our heart for others who face physical suffering syncs up in our heart for those in spiritual anguish.

In our text today verse 12 reminds us of our accountability to God.

12 If you say, “Behold, we did not know this,” does not he who weighs the heart perceive it? Does not he who keeps watch over your soul know it, and will he not repay man according to his work?

It’s true that good works carry a reward.

Matthew 6 speaks a lot about that.. 1st Corinthians chapter 3 breaks it down very clearly…

I want to read a passaged in:

1 Corinthians 3:11 For no one can lay a foundation other than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ. (Paul explains it in detail then)… 14 If the work that anyone has built on the foundation survives, he will receive a reward.

But look… only the good works motivated out of a heart for his glory actually count for good works. And we cant claim bragging rights for doing them because Gods mercy and grace brought it about in our life… He even gives us extreme joy in doing them to boot.

But sure, anyone can do good legalistic type works… I mean… if we gave money to the poor or worked at the homeless shelter or in the food kitchen… If we gave everything we had but did not do it from a changed heart with Godly Agape Love then it profits us nothing. So rewards will be handed out in Heaven and it will bring glory back to God and his work in us.

But the Bible is also very clear that we will be not only rewarded but judged by our works… that is… the works motivated by him. In other words, We become a believer by faith in Jesus without any works whatsoever… but on judgment day our works which were motivated and quickened by God will be the verification of our our salvation in Christ.

Romans 2:6 He will render to each one according to his works: 7 to those who by patience in well-doing seek for glory and honor and immortality, he will give eternal life; 8 but for those who are self-seeking and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness, there will be wrath and fury. (Self seeking works bring wrath and fury.)

This last verse might actually explain it best… Ill read it then pray:

Galatians 5:6 For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision counts for anything, but only faith working through love.

Proverbs 24:8 Whoever plans to do evil will be called a schemer. 9 The devising of folly is sin, and the scoffer is an abomination to mankind.

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The planning of evil… That might be the person who lays on their bed and thinks about those who they think have offended or hurt them and they imagine ways they can put them in their place.

Then Solomon mentions the devising of folly which might be that after you have decided on the details of how you can execute revenge, you now begin putting everything in place for this foolish thing you want to accomplish. Then finally, possibly after the trap is set, this person wears the prideful, smug, arrogant aura of the scoffer.

Now in a way our text might catch us a little bit off guard. Usually in Proverbs we are hearing what is an abomination to God.

In Proverbs alone we are told many things that are abominations to God:

Here's some examples out of Proverbs…

A false balance... ETC.

Proverbs 11:1, 3:32, 28:9, 16:5, 21:27, 15:9, 12:22, 17:17, 6:16, 17, 18, 19, 15:26, 11:20

But in our verses today Solomon talks about what is an abomination to mankind. He says it is the scoffer… and as we noticed this scoffer can be the same person as the planner of evil and deviser of folly… And from the references we looked it seems clear to me that these same things are an abomination to God.

Why might wickedness be an abomination to mankind?

First let’s look at why wickedness is an abominations to a believer.

Proverbs 29:27 An unjust man is an abomination to the righteous,…

It’s not that believers don’t love the unjust… in fact we are to follow the example of Jesus and be willing to give our life for the unjust as Jesus did for us. But for the believer, sin is an abomination… not only in the lives of others but in our own life as well.

Proverbs 8:7 for my mouth will utter truth; wickedness is an abomination to my lips.

But Solomon goes further than making this claim for only worshipers of God… And though he specifically ends with “the scoffer” as being an abomination to mankind… it seems to me that the scoffer might just be the end of this prideful person who plans and devises wickedness and then sits around with an arrogant smirk on his lips knowing the trap he has set.

If these two verses are about the same person then he is called a schemer, a scoffer and an abomination.

Why might all of mankind call him these things?

Well, right now I can think of a couple reasons…

First off, a wicked person is not all that particular about who he hurts… especially if he feels they have hurt him. Whether he is a believer or not it does not matter. He will plan and scheme and execute his ploy and then laugh. Therefore he is not admired by the whole of mankind. The fullness of his disgrace may not be seen entirely until his plans are in motion and he stands in his conceit. But it seems to me that and arrogant person is most likely to be called abominable to mankind.

Number Two: I think that when it’s all said and done sin will be an abomination to all of of mankind. I’m going to read a passage and then pray.

You may remember the story of Lazarus the beggar and the rich man in Luke 16. They both died. The rich man went to Hades. He called out to Abraham and ask him to send Lazarus to his five brothers to warn them.

Luke 16:27 And he said, ‘Then I beg you, father, to send him to my father’s house— 28 for I have five brothers—so that he may warn them, lest they also come into this place of torment.’ 29 But Abraham said, ‘They have Moses and the Prophets; let them hear them.’ 30 And he said, ‘No, father Abraham, but if someone goes to them from the dead, they will repent.’ 31 He said to him, ‘If they do not hear Moses and the Prophets, neither will they be convinced if someone should rise from the dead.’”

Pray

Proverbs in 365 Devotions

For more go to braggingonjesus.com

Proverbs 24:3 By wisdom a house is built, and by understanding it is established; 4 by knowledge the rooms are filled with all precious and pleasant riches. 5 A wise man is full of strength, and a man of knowledge enhances his might, 6 for by wise guidance you can wage your war, and in abundance of counselors there is victory. 7 Wisdom is too high for a fool; in the gate he does not open his mouth.

Spiritual Wisdom Brings Spiritual Riches

R Aylor

Solomon here, talks about Wisdom… and being the wisest man on earth he is most qualified to speak on this. Wisdom is a broad and extensive subject. What is the definition? The one I like from the dictionary on my computer is: “the soundness of an action or decision with regard to the application of experience, knowledge, and good judgment”.

So I think gaining knowledge in itself is not necessarily wisdom… but Wisdom is our plans to use and then actually putting that knowledge into action…

Solomon talks about how wisdom works with understanding and knowledge to build a house and fill it with riches…

Solomon is speaking about Wisdom relating to things of the world. It’s a vast subject. Mankind studies physical things … Worldly wisdom is something we need in our daily life and it includes things like working and saving and investing… not stealing… not walking out in front of a moving truck… I think this is God given wisdom we all have access to...

James 3:17 says: But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, open to reason, full of mercy and good fruits, impartial and sincere.

So if there is a wisdom from above I suppose there is wisdom from below.

For example, Hitler used knowledge and understanding to brainwash a Nation. He used information gained from scientists and studies for torture and murder and war. We also can use wisdom for self centered purposes… seeking to gain power and influence, money and possessions… not to use them for the glory of God but for our own glory. That's how Hitler lived his life… for his own glory.

So there is a worldly wisdom but there is also spiritual wisdom… wisdom that is more than just willing to work and save and invest and someone who tries not to lie and steal… These things are good common sense wisdom. When we were talking about the wisdom of the world you probably noticed how spiritual wisdom intersects with the physical world and moves men and women to seek the glory of God or a dark glory like Hitler. Even satan himself has knowledge and understanding; and in his own wisdom he acts out a plan for evil .

1st Corinthians 2:6 Yet among the mature we do impart wisdom, although it is not a wisdom of this age or of the rulers of this age, who are doomed to pass away. 7 But we impart a secret and hidden wisdom of God, which God decreed before the ages for our glory. 8 None of the rulers of this age understood this, for if they had, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory.

Thank You Father for wisdom… wisdom as a common grace available to all whether they hope in Jesus or not… a for living life… but mostly Father for this secret wisdom of God in Christ Jesus that Paul of… The one spoken of in Genesis after the fall of man… and throughout the Old Testament… the coming Messiah who would set right what Adam and Eve and all their descendants failed in… Where they sinned he would be perfect that he might give away his righteousness to all who delight in him. In his death He would take the payment for all our sin… The wages of sin is death but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. In his resurrection we see how we are given the same power that raised him from the dead to have victory over sin in this life as we walk with him… and also he will raise us up incorruptible to be with him forever. Thank You Father for the wisdom of God in Christ Jesus.

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Proverbs in 365 Devotions

For more go to braggingonjesus.com

Proverbs 24:1 Be not envious of evil men, nor desire to be with them, 2 for their hearts devise violence, and their lips talk of trouble.

Desire

R Aylor

I was thinking about why a person might want to be around evil people? There may be a number of reasons. But this verse is clearly not referring to visiting a wicked person in the hopes of showing them the love of God. That would be something totally different… That would not include fellowship… and that would include much caution especially for those who are weak in an area and are trying to minister to a person without Christ. A whole different study. But this is different. Here Solomon mentions envying them and uses the word desire which carries with it a heart that is passionate to some extent to be with an evil person. So why?

Acceptance maybe? At least that might be one reason. Wickedness shows acceptance to someone who is agreeable, even tolerant of their views. Someone may also look to an evil person as a mentor who is rich and powerful… They may aspire to learn from them so they may become like them.

For broken sinful people… which is what we are, sin makes its appeals to us with this kind of fame or celebrity status associated with the darkness… It draws us… it tugs on our heart strings and as we enjoy its company, it transforms us.

Thats why who we choose to hang around with… or in so doing, who we like to fellowship with; tells us who we are and who we are becoming.

Proverbs 13:20 Whoever walks with the wise becomes wise, but the companion of fools will suffer harm.

2nd Corinthians 3:18 talks about this type of thing in relation to Gods glory instead of the so called glory of sin.

2nd Corinthians 3:18 And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit.

Thats the person I want to be… One who is becoming more like Christ… Loving his word, not veiling out his truths… picking up his attributes and character becoming more like Christ… bearing the fruit of the Spirit… things like love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self control.

Psalm 1:1 Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked, nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of scoffers; 2 but his delight is in the law of the Lord, and on his law he meditates day and night.

Thats what I want.

The last part of todays verse says: “and their lips talk of trouble”.

I know trouble is a big topic… but also remember what we say is an indication of whats in our heart. If we are talking trouble there is trouble in our heart. In Matthew 12:34 Jesus said “…For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks”.

In closing I’ll read a couple of verses about what wants us to think about in our heart and then speak about…

Philippians 4:8 Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things.

Ephesians 4:29 Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear.

Pray

Proverbs in 365 Devotions

For more go to braggingonjesus.com

Proverbs 19:26 He who does violence to his father and chases away his mother is a son who brings shame and reproach.

These are some pretty serious and negative offenses a person might do with their life. Committing violence, driving away mother… bringing shame and reproach… Solomon had likely seen this in his own family.

Disciplined With Scorpions

R Aylor

One of Solomons stepbrother’s was Amnon. Another stepbrother was Absalom. Amnon raped Absolems sister Tamar and and so Absolem killed Amnon.

Absalom was later killed by Joab after he mounted a rebellion against his aging father David.

Another stepbrother of Solomons was Adonijah. He attempted to usurp the throne during the life of David. Solomon would later have him executed.

So there you have it. Solomon likely learned much of the wisdom from this proverb from pondering his own life. Even his own son Rehoboam strayed from his fathers teachings. After Solomons death he took the advice of his younger friends over the elders and increased control over the people. Heres what he told the people of Israel:

1st Kings 12:11 “My father made your yoke heavy, but I will add to your yoke. My father disciplined you with whips, but I will discipline you with scorpions.”

After the people saw how Rehoboam had responded 11 of the tribes of Israel separated themselves from Rehoboam and the tribe of Judah and so there became two kingdoms… Israel in the north and Judah in the south.

As for Rehoboam, 2nd Chronicles 12:14 says: And he did evil, for he did not set his heart to seek the LORD.

There did appear as though Rehoboam had a time of repentance when Judah was overcome in war but whether it was a real heart change toward God I am not sure.

As for Solomon… the kingdoms were torn apart because of his sin in turning after other gods.

1st Kings 11:4 For when Solomon was old his wives turned away his heart after other gods, and his heart was not wholly true to the Lord his God, as was the heart of David his father. …9 And the Lord was angry with Solomon, because his heart had turned away from the Lord, the God of Israel, who had appeared to him twice 10 and had commanded him concerning this thing, that he should not go after other gods. But he did not keep what the Lord commanded. 11 Therefore the Lord said to Solomon, “Since this has been your practice and you have not kept my covenant and my statutes that I have commanded you, I will surely tear the kingdom from you and will give it to your servant. 12 Yet for the sake of David your father I will not do it in your days, but I will tear it out of the hand of your son. 13 However, I will not tear away all the kingdom, but I will give one tribe to your son, for the sake of David my servant and for the sake of Jerusalem that I have chosen.”

And so just as many of Davids sons brought shame to their parents… so Solomon fulfilled his own proverb by bringing reproach to his own father David and his mother Bathsheba. And Solomons own son Rehoboam did the same to him.

So what can we learn? Not keeping the fifth commandment to honor our father and mother made a ruin out of their lives.

Ephesians 6:1 says: 1 Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right.

Look, we may or may not have had good directives or good examples from our parents but if we have delighted in Christ as good news and have been made Gods children… then we have his word as instruction for our good in every way and for his glory.

Pray